The authorities Tuesday decided to call in the army as the shoot-at-sight order and curfew failed to contain ethnic violence in Assam's Karbi Anglong district where one more person was killed taking the toll to 70 and 167 houses were torched, triggering an exodus of people.

The decision to deploy troops was taken at a high-level meeting in Diphu of the Unified Command Structure administative head and Chief Secretary S Kabilan, Operational Commander and 4 Corps GoC Lt Gen H S Lidder and Director General of Police P V Sumant as part of a special strategy mooted by Chief Minister Tarun Gogoi.

Kabilan, Lidder and Sumant visited the affected areas and relief camps to take stock of the situation and reviewed the law and order with the district administration.

The army, paramilitary forces and police are already patrolling the violence-affected area.

According to official sources, 5,000 dimasas have fled the relief camps in Karbi Anglong to neighbouring Nagaon and North Cachar Hills districts where they are in majority while 1,000 Karbis had taken shelter in and around the district headquarter town of Diphu.

The body of one person was recovered from Karbi village of Tissobasti, under Diphu police station, where unidentified miscreants set ablaze 23 houses Monday night, the police added.